Shoppers across the region and state were hitting the stores Friday to return unwanted Christmas presents and to take advantage of post-holiday discounts of up to 75 percent. At the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Apopka, the parking lot was only partially full. “It wasn’t as crowded as I thought [it would be],’’ said June Johnson, 40, of Orlando, who came to the store to get some bread. She decided, however, to go back in to shop for Christmas decorations at half off. Also at the Wal-Mart, Jennifer Juman of Ocoee said, “It’s really calm this year …. Usually you can’t find parking; you have to do circles and circles.’’ Across the nation, many retailers opened before 6 a.m., offering deals like 50 percent to 75 percent off on toys, furniture, electronics and clothing. Their goal is to salvage what they could from what has been a dismal holiday shopping season. According to preliminary data from SpendingPulse — a division of MasterCard Advisors that tracks total sales paid for by credit card, checks and cash — retail sales fell between 5.5 percent and 8 percent during the holiday season compared with last year. Excluding auto and gas sales, they fell 2 percent to 4 percent, according to SpendingPulse. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

It’s beginning to look a lot like the holidays… Or at least that’s what retailers seem to be saying.

From carols in the stores to advertisements touting “the lowest holiday prices,” it looks like the holiday retail season has begun.

This year, great deals will be even more important as families try to make their budgets stretch. So as you search for the best bargains and hottest items, check back with The Holiday Wrap Up for the latest retail news.

And new for 2008: You can follow The Holiday Wrap Up on Twitter. We’ll be updating under the name ‘holidaywrap.’

Mega-retailer Wal-Mart said Thursday its stores had trouble processing gift cards the day after Christmas.

The company said in a statement that the issue was caused by a glitch in its third-party card verification system and the problem has been resolved. Wal-Mart said other retailers experienced similar problems with the third-party card processor.